Left I on the News

A leftwing view of the day's news and the way it's presented in the media

Monday, August 14, 2006

Racism in the media

Listening to CNN last night, I heard "senior correspondent" Matthew Chance utter the words which are all too commonplace in the media: "The Israelis have suffered far fewer deaths than the Lebanese, but to them, every single life is precious" (quoted from memory). This, my friends, is racism, pure and simple. The Lebanese and Palestinians mourn every single death just as much as the Israelis. And would even do so publicly, that is, if they could find the bodies under the rubble, or if they weren't afraid of their funeral processions being bombed.

Does Matthew Chance think of himself as a racist, or does anyone else at CNN regard him as such? Don't be silly. This sentiment, that the poor beleagured Israelis somehow value life more than any of their neighbors, is such an ingrained idea in the American (and probably Western in general) consciousness, that they don't even realize what they are saying. That doesn't make it any less racist.